Priebus hails college GOP report

Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus on Monday praised a new, highly critical report from leading young Republicans as a “great” step toward strengthening the GOP’s standing with that demographic.

The College Republican National Committee’s “deep dive into what politically motivates Millennials, just like our Growth and Opportunity Project, are great steps for our party to engage with more voters and win more elections,” Priebus told POLITICO in a statement. “The Republican Party cannot do better unless we have a full understanding of what all Americans want from their government.”

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The chairman was referring to a 95-page study - first reported Sunday by POLITICO - from the CRNC that offers a blunt assessment of why the Republican Party lost by major margins with young voters in November, with President Barack Obama winning 60 percent of that demographic. The report comes several months after the RNC released its own postmortem, called the “Growth and Opportunity Project.”

The new document argues that the GOP brand is damaged in the eyes of young people, and outlines how the party should repair that reputation — by accepting diverse viewpoints on gay marriage and immigration, for example, and unpacking how that age group is directly affected by key economic debates.

“We have already begun to increase our engagement with young voters and encourage young conservatives to become more active in their communities,” Priebus continued. “Republicans are in a great position to talk to Millennials about how we are actively fighting to give entrepreneurial young people a better shot at success and freedom and opportunity for all Americans. The foundation is set and now we’re putting the rubber to the road.”

Jake Sticka, a representative for College Democrats of America, also invoked the Growth and Opportunity Project — but did so as he downplayed the CRNC’s report.

“This report comes months after the RNC’s autopsy and the Republican Party has shown repeatedly that it is not interested in changing,” Sticka told POLITICO in an email. “Republicans are still trying to repeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, increase student loan interest rates and disenfranchise voters. All the reports in the world won’t change the fact the Republican Party is way out of the mainstream on issues important to young voters.”